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Wednesday, December 31, 2014

During my trip to California a few weeks ago, one of the few things I wanted to do while I was there was shop at boutiques around town. I love boutiques because they are unique and only sell a certain amount of each product in their store, so basically what you buy not everyone can too. My friend who I visited lives in North Hollywood, and we ventured out to a cute little town nearby called Studio City, which has by the way many boutique shops, delicious restaurants, and wonderful people; I fell right in love.

This area was exactly what I was looking for, and while we were shopping store to store, I came across this adorable, small boutique called William B + Friends on Ventura Blvd. As we walked in the store, I immediately found a few items that I wanted to try on, and on top of that the friendly sales people greeted us and were very helpful the entire time. Fortunately for us, they had a nice sale going on in the back, and I can never go wrong with sales so I tried on a few items from there, one in particular that I fell in love with was this suede nude dress (that also comes in black). It was a unique boutique find, BINGO! I don't have much nude of anything, so this was perfect. The front area is the only part that is suede. Perfect look for work, or a nice dinner.

I definitely would go back to this store next time I am in town. The sales people were helpful, nice, and overall just wonderful people! If you find yourself in Studio City I recommend you check this place out. They are located on 12206 Ventura Blvd. They have a few other locations as well.

The shipping process took forever; I
just received this dress in the mail last week, and was contacted end of
October. I’m not sure if the shipping
typically takes this long, but if you really want something on
there for a special occasion, you probably should buy it way in advance
(literally).

The dress itself was not a dress; it was
a romper instead. I mean, if it were
anyone else, they would be a bit disappointed, though I do like rompers so I
was okay with it. But personally I think
the company should put it under ‘jumpsuits/rompers’ and not dresses, because
that is very misleading and dishonest.

In addition, the material of the romper is very cheap. Online it says that the fabric is ‘chiffon,’
though it feels like a very cheap poncho-type material. I mean this ‘dress’ costs only $29.59, so you
kind of get what you paid for. Another
down side was that the romper itself had loop holes around the waist, but did not
come with an actual belt. Luckily, I have one
from a different dress in my closet, and just used that.

On the bright side, this romper actually looks cute on. So despite the mishaps, I
really adore it.

Photography by: Marc Anderson

Disclosure: I was not financially compensated for this post. I received a sample for review purposes. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

I wore this romper with my ZARA white strapped heels, black loose belt, and a black clutch. Although the cheap material, you can't really notice, it's just a very thin material.

Polka dots are one of my favorite prints, so that's probably what makes it acceptable! Again, despite my negative review, I would definitely give this site another chance. They did have a variety of cute pieces on there for a reasonable price. I just hope that it really does not take two months for an item to be shipped to you!

Friday, December 26, 2014

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! The other day I went shopping and came across this jacquard skirt from Zara and fell right in love with it. The skirt is perfect length for a classy, chic look. Instead of wearing a plain black top with it, I decided to pair it with my silk floral printed tank, and the two work lovely together!

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Good morning Lovelies! Merry almost Christmas! Are you excited for the holiday season as much as I am? I hope so! In honor of the holidays coming along, I have exciting news for you...I am hosting another wonderful giveaway! For all you lovely readers, this is our way of thanking you for being such great supporters!

The Details: I have teamed up with 7 Bloggers from across the globe this holiday season to give one lucky reader a chance to win a $200 Gift Card to Top Shop. The best part is.... This giveaway is open to ALL residents across the world! So anyone or everyone can enter!!!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Though the dreadful winter has approached, floral prints tastefully give your outfit a lovely touch. Floral prints have stayed chic for as long as I remember, and probably will stay like that for a while!

I have been looking for the perfect silk slip dress for the longest time. I came across this dress last month at Forever 21 for only $17.80. I love the floral print on the dress, it's definitely a perfect color for the fall/winter time! This dress is very versatile; I chose to wear this dress with my tweed blazer, black booties, and pink purse. I wore this slip with a ribbon belt, I felt that it added a bit of a girly touch to the outfit.

Friday, December 19, 2014

Can you believe that in two weeks from now the year of 2014 will be over!?! Despite the bad memories, it's safe to say that I have had an amazing year. Some of which included, great opportunities with blogging, starting a continuous healthy lifestyle, graduating, and much more! This year was definitely a year to remember, so I can't wait to see what 2015 will bring!

I'm sure most of you already made plans for the upcoming holiday, but some that haven't, here's a guide to my top three hot spots [with outfits included] to ring in the New Year in Chicago.

1) Get Classy at the Violet Hour [1520 N. Damen // Right off the Damen Blue Line]

This classy cocktail lounge is a definite hot spot to ring in the New Year. The party starts at 9 pm, bubbly signature cocktails, beers and wine will be available, as well as a celebratory toast at midnight and a late night Big Star snack. The cost is $140/person. Contact: aubrey@theviolethour.com to RSVP.What to wear:

2) Dance the Night Away at Royal with Chicago Twenty Something [1543 N. Kingsbury // Right off the North and Clybourn Red Line]Do you know what I am doing this year? Since tickets were fairly cheap and I had no idea what I was doing, my friends and I bought these. The two story building holds up to 850 people, with DJs spinning Mash up, Top 40, EDM, House and Techno all night, you are guaranteed a great time! General entry includes:

Express entry before 1am

Plenty of bars and servers

Champagne toast at Midnight

Noisemakers and Party Favors

....and much more! Tickets are now $30/person but prices will increase, so buy them here now!

Navy Pier is throwing a huge gala in their Grand Ballroom, supposedly this year is going to be their biggest celebration yet! Get front row seats for Navy Pier's 2015 fireworks, as well as more than 30 bars where guests can enjoy unlimited drinks, a fully-stocked buffet and DJs spinning tunes all night! Just typing this all out, sounds like a party you can't miss! Prices and details here.

I have yet to buy a dress for this upcoming holiday. Some of these dresses are actually on my wish list and possibly a dress I might buy? What are you guys doing for the New Year? Hope you all have a great weekend.Get a FREE manicure using @prettyquick for the New Years! Use this link!

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Invaluable is the world’s largest online live auction
marketplace, which features online auctions from all over the world. You can bid on art, antiques, jewelry, rare
coins, collectibles, and much more.. This
site has everything! I actually have
never bid on anything before, but while scrolling through this site, it
definitely kept me interested in the idea.
For a blogger who writes about fashion, jewelry is an essential to an
everyday outfit. Jewelry is what helps a plain outfit look more
spectacular.

Invaluable has a vast variety of jewelry, including designer
brands such as Chanel, Hermes, and Tiffany & Co., how can you go wrong
there? Out of all jewelry, I would
say one of my favorites are rings. Rings
are a great piece to spice up your outfit.

In honor of the holidays coming up, I have put together two outfits you can wear with my three favorite rings that I came across on their site. Check it out:

You can wear these three rings separately or all together! I love wearing a variety of rings on my hand, and never just one, it just makes your look a bit more fun! The third ring is my most favorite, knowing me I love wearing color, and big jewelry pieces that stand out. These two looks are perfect outfits to get you going on your upcoming holiday parties!

Disclosure: I was not financially compensated for this post. The opinions are completely my own based on my experience.

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

I had the most amazing time while I was in California this past weekend. I visited a few of my friends while I was there but now I am back in the gloomy-cold Chicago. Though I haven't been posting and it was quite short, it felt nice to just get away from everything here, finally breath and take a break.

One thing I realized while I was there was how much more determined I am to move to California. I love this city, but I feel as if I would love it more there. Despite the cold weather, Chicago will always be my home, but I think it's safe to say I am ready for the next chapter. This time around I did more during my trip than I did the last time. However there are still way too many cities and endless things to do there, that I plan on going back soon. This post is to share with you (through pictures) my California trip! Hope you enjoy!

When I landed I was starving, so we all went to a restaurant in Studio City called Granville. Seriously one of my favorite restaurants thus far. The best thing about this place was everything they make is fresh and they have many great options to choose from. The entree I chose was the BBQ Chicken with mash potatoes and salad. AA-MMAZING! Seriously, if you ever find yourself around Studio City, Glendale or Burbank, it's a must! I heard their drinks are phenomenal too!

Afterwards we had some dessert. Regardless of how stuffed I was, I can always make some room for dessert! This place was also located on the strip in Studio City. Since I use to blog about Cupcakes, I tried their Dark Chocolate Ganache Cupcake. The icing was my favorite part!

'enough said.'

I love them.

Yes I worked out when I was on vacation. I actually bought a ClassPass and now it lets you use it in other cities as well, so I figured I should totally try a class in Cali! There's a popular studio called Barry's Bootcamp, which is essentially the same concept as Shred415 here, but unfortunately all the classes were full. Supposedly a lot of celebrities go to this workout class, one specifically Kim Kardashian (ha). Instead, I went to a barre class, located again in Studio City called Pop Physique. Now the only barre class I have tried thus far is at Barre Code here in Chicago, and it definitely couldn't compare. This class was beyond hard but definitely a great workout which is what I wanted! I believe they have other locations, so I would recommend trying this place.

Lemonade. It's a chain 'fast food' type joint, but it was yet amazing! The food tasted super fresh and the lemonade was very refreshing. I would definitely go back again!

Then I headed to Orange County area to see my long time friend Lauren.

For dinner we went to the Blind Pig and I ordered the chicken quarters, which was very tender and moist just the way I like it. The flavors to this dish was mind blowing, definitely another must!

I had the opportunity to finally meet the lovely +Jenny Plog I love meeting other bloggers, especially ones from different cities! She is super sweet, go check her out!

My outfit. =)

The beautiful Santa Monica. If I could choose anywhere to live, I totally would live here.

We did the Runyon Canyon Hike... Well sort of. Siri unfortunately directed us to the wrong entrance, so it only took us 10 minutes to get to the top. Regardless of not doing the actual hike, the view was breathtaking. Can you imagine being able to this year round?!